Conductors transmitting signals often exhibit a phenomenon known as “skin effect” whereby the self-inductance of the conductors forces electrons toward the surface of the conductors. Skin effect is particularly prevalent in conductors transmitting high-frequency signals. For example, it has been found that for a copper conductor, the depth from the surface at which the majority of the electrons flow (i.e., the “skin depth”) is approximately 2 microns for a 1 gigahertz (GHz) signal, 0.66 microns for a 10 GHz signal, and 0.33 microns for a 40 GHz signal.
Skin effect restricts current to only a relatively small portion of the total cross-sectional area of a conductor. Conductors, however, frequently exhibit a surface roughness that may extend into the skin depth of the conductors. As a result of this surface roughness, the mean free path traveled by electrons exhibiting skin effect increases in length as the electrons travel up and down the contours of the rough surface of the conductor. This increase in the effective signal path results in a corresponding increase in the resistance to the flow of the current and transmission time and, consequently, a decrease in the signal reach and performance.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a technique for conditioning conductive circuit traces exhibiting the skin effect phenomenon that overcomes the above-described inadequacies and shortcomings in an efficient and cost effective manner.